A fluorescent microscope refers to an apparatus which processes a fluorescent material (fluorescent pigment) in a sample by using a principle in which fluorescent light is emitted from a fluorescent substance if the fluorescent substance absorbs light having a specific wavelength, and irradiates light having the absorption wavelength of the fluorescent material to the sample to survey the sample through radiation light emitted from the sample. The fluorescent microscope can obtain a clear image as compared with a general optical microscope, and thus is widely used when a sample such as a bio chip is surveyed.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a general fluorescent microscope according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, the fluorescent microscope according to the related art sorts monochromatic light having the same wavelength as an absorption wavelength of a fluorescent substance attached to a sample 17 positioned on a plate 16 from white light 10 through a first optical filter 11, adjusts a path of the sorted monochromatic light 10a having the absorption wavelength through a dichroic mirror 13 to irradiate the monochromatic light 10a to the sample 17 through an objective lens 12, and sorts light having the same wavelength as a coloring wavelength of the fluorescent substance of the sample 17 from the light 10b generated by the fluorescent substance of the sample 17 having passed the objective lens 12 and the dichroic mirror 13 through a second optical filter 14 to provide the sorted light to a light receiving unit 15. Meanwhile, the light receiving unit 15 is realized by an ocular lens or an image pickup device such as a CCD, and detects the coloring wavelength of the fluorescent substance attached to the sample 17 to allow a shape of the sample 17 to be surveyed.
However, the fluorescent microscope according to the related art is configured to obtain a single fluorescent image according to the light irradiated to the sample 17, and is unsuitable for irradiating various kinds of light to obtain fluorescent images and then comparing the fluorescent images to survey an accurate shape of the sample 17.
Although a multi fluorescent microscope including a plurality of light sources to irradiate various kinds of light to the sample 17 has been developed to solve the problem, the multi fluorescent microscope according to the related art is configured to obtain a fluorescent image through a single light receiving unit 15, and thus has a problem of having to mechanically replace a light source and a filter according to a type of light irradiated to the sample 17.
That is, the multi fluorescent microscope requires separate electronic and mechanical equipment to replace a light source and a filter, requiring high production costs, generates mechanical vibrations, causing a breakdown of the device, and consumes a separate time for replacing a light source and a filter, making it difficult to promptly and simply obtain a desired fluorescent image.
Accordingly, a multi fluorescent microscope capable of simply and promptly obtaining a plurality of fluorescent images without a mechanical movement has been requested to be developed.